Who is Alicia Souza?
The cover photo of her Facebook page has a cartoon of a woman clad in green sari, hands folded in, as if saying Namaste, and the text reads, “I’m an Indian — (though not) from Bombay city, I’m an Indian, so you better follow me.” A conversation with this warm artist is just as fuzzy as her art. “My name is Alicia Souza. Pronounced Ahh-lees-see-yaahh or Aliie for short. I was born and brought up in the Middle East (Abu Dhabi to be specific) when camels still roamed between cities, studied and worked in Melbourne for five years and moved to Bengaluru about two years back. All that moving, and I dislike travelling,” she says and adds, “I am a freelancing illustrative designer. I have two dogs who take up most of my social life time and make sure all my black pants are sprinkled with loose fur, which is impossible to take out completely.”
Alicia started her Facebook page in September 2011, after convincing herself for three months that she needed to. “The bathroom-mirror-talks helped,” she adds in jest. On her page, Alicia shares her illustrations and regulars on these comics are Alicia herself and, of course, her pets! There’s something for everyone on the page, a take on current news and the most looked-forward-to item “Learn Something New Everyday” where fans send in words and Alicia explains the word with a cartoon. Words like Franken Food, Flapdoodles, Slugabed have been featured so far.
What’s interesting is that despite the distinctive femininity of her work, Alicia has managed a sizeable number of men among the thousands of fans on Facebook. “I’m actually quite proud of that, really. I like to think that everything from kissing dog illustrations to food with lots of hearts appeal to men as well. I also hope that no one thinks I’m actually a man,” she adds.
As for her inspiration, Alicia, explains, “I wish I could say nature like some gorgeous artists who look at leaves and draw magical forests with unicorns but absolutely nothing and also everything inspires me. People (especially conversations), my dogs and just daily life situations and the bumps that come with it.”
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